Kalavasos

The Kalavasos-Tenta Archaeological Site (also known simply as the Tenta Settlement) is located near Kalavasos Village in the Larnaca district. This neolithic settlement was discovered in 1947 by Pophyrios Dikaios and excavated from 1976 to 1984.

The settlement seems to have been peacefully abandoned for reasons unknown. The village is approximately contemporary with the nearby site at Choirokoitia, although the precise relationship is uncertain. The circular houses of the village, built of stone and mud-brick, cluster on the upper part of a natural hill. At least for part of its duration, the settlement was surrounded by a substantial stone wall, probably with a mud-brick superstructure, and a ditch cut in the natural limestone outside the wall. The roofs of the domestic buildings may have been variously flat of domed, and the internal piers in some of the buildings probably served to support an upper wooden floor. Most of the structures were probably domestic in nature. A complex of structures on the west side of the top of the site may also have been of special significance. The inhabitants of the village, perhaps numbering no more than 150.

Following tradition, the site's name dates back to 327 AD, when Saint Helen stayed in a tent in the area, during her visit to Cyprus. Of course, the name is enhanced by the tent-like structure currently covering the ancient ruins.

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